Il Gazzettino June 2017 Message from the Board It’s summer, but FOISOH is not taking a vacation! We have many events planned including Italian conversation and Italian language classes, a potluck picnic, a brunch at the beautiful Outrigger Canoe Club, and a blind wine tasting. Visit our website and watch for emails for more details. Cordiali saluti, Friends of Italy Society of Hawaii Board [email protected] In this issue: Upcoming Events 1 Message from the Board Aperi-Pranzo (Potluck Picnic), June 25 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM 1 Upcoming Events Kapi’olani Park Aperi-Pranzo (Potluck Picnic) Parliamo Italiano! Parliamo Italiano! (Let’s Speak Italian!) Meetings June 25 Brunch at the Outrigger Canoe Club and July 16 Blind Wine-Tasting Brunch at the Outrigger Canoe Club, July 23, 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM Italian Language Classes Blind Wine-Tasting with “Musing by 4 Past Events the Glass” Blogger Seth Buckley, FOISOH Annual Board Meeting and Dinner Hawai’I Loa Ridge Clubhouse, August 5 Feature Story 18 Philip Mazzei: Thomas Jefferson’s Secret Italian Language Lessons (New!!) Agent, Friend, and Inspiration for Some Start date TBD but probably August Famous Lines in the Declaration of 2017 Independence Upcoming Events: SUNDAY, June 25: Aperi-Pranzo (Potluck Picnic) Details: It's summertime and no better way to ring in the summer solstice than with a good ol' fashioned picnic in the park! A great time for our members to show off their cooking talents and share, play bocce ball, go for a swim at Kaimana Beach, or just relax under the shade of a banyan tree. Time: 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Where: Kapi`olani Park (exact location TBD soon) Costs: This is a FREE event! How to RSVP: No formal RVSP is required. Since this will be potluck, a food sign-up will be circulated to ensure that the picnic is well-balanced with a variety of foods and drinks. NOTE: This is the same date as "Parliamo Italiano" - this is not a typo. There is not that much overlap between the Parliamo Italiano and Aperi-Pranzo events so members who wish to attend both can do so without any conflict. SUNDAY, July 23: Friends of Italy Brunch at Outrigger Canoe Club Details: Enjoy a delicious breakfast buffet while checking out the surf on your day off. The views at the Outrigger are stunning and the Outrigger's breakfast is excellent. Plus, nothing says "Sunday Mornings" like a Prosecco mimosa with fresh-squeezed orange juice. Special thanks to Friends of Italy member Jeannin Jeremiah for the idea and for making this happen! We're looking to add this new event to our event "repertoire" if it's well-attended by our membership Time: 10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Where: Outrigger Canoe Club, 2909 Kalākaua Ave, Honolulu 96815 Costs: $35 for members; $50 for non-members; drink tickets sold separately. How to RSVP: Zach will email out more specifics on how to register for this event in the upcoming weeks. Page 2 Upcoming Events Parliamo Italiano! continues to meet at least once per month. Jeannin Jeremiah is the host for an informal discussion in Italian. Additional meetings are planned on • June 25 - 12:30 pm at 9Bar in SALT at Kakaako –if you would like to attend RSVP ([email protected]) no later than Wednesday, June 21 • July 16 - 12:30 pm at Panya Bistro – 288 Ala Moana Blvd. , Honolulu, HI 96814 --- if you would like to attend, RSVP no later than Wednesday, July 12. • Both of these events are FREE!! FRIDAY, August 18: Blind Wine-Tasting with “Musing by the Glass” Blogger Seth Buckley • Details: Break out the wine chillers and "spitoons," it's time for a blind wine-tasting! Bring a bottle (or several) of wine and Seth Buckley, a wine connoisseur and writer for the hot blog "Musings By The Glass", will lead us through a blind tasting to test your palette! This event will be held at the Hawaii Loa Ridge Clubhouse, courtesy of the Rufo's. More details to come. • Time: about 6:00 p.m. • Where: 669 Puuikena Drive, Honolulu 96821 • How to RSVP: Zach will email out more specifics on how to register for this event in the upcoming weeks. Italian Language Lessons – Beginning Level Information will be sent out by email shortly – These lessons will probably begin in August. Page 3 Past Events FIOSOH Annual Board Meeting and Dinner, May 22, 2017 On May 22, 2017 members enjoyed a beautiful sunset beach view, great company, delicious food and dancing at the Outrigger Canoe Club in Waikiki. Page 4 Feature Story Philip Mazzei – Thomas Jefferson’s Secret Agent, Friend and Inspiration For Some Famous Lines in The Declaration Of Independence By Mark Ethridge On June 19, 1779, the Italian merchant Philip Mazzei sets sail from Hobb’s Hole on the Rappahannock in Virginia on the first leg of a trip to Europe. He is accompanied by his wife, step-daughter and friend, Francesco del Maglio. His special and secret mission is to obtain funding and supplies for the Old Dominion’s troops then engaged with the other American colonies in the Revolutionary War against Great Britain. Mazzei has been recommended for this mission by Thomas Jefferson. The idea of using Mazzei as a special envoy to Europe had first been discussed in 1778 with Governor Patrick Henry, John Page, John Hancock, and others. Jefferson had explained that Mazzei could be useful in persuading the Grand Duke of Tuscany to use his “large sums of ready money” to benefit the revolutionary cause. He also noted in a letter to John Hancock of the Massachusetts delegation that “the Genoese are among the richest people in Europe,” and couldn’t spend all of their wealth. In fact, he wrote that much of this money was at that time sitting in English banks, so Jefferson suggested that Mazzei might even encourage them to withdraw all their money at once, thereby causing a collapse of the Page 5 Feature Story British banks: “There seems therefore reason to hope we might do something clever with them (the banks) which would be doubly beneficial by supplying our wants, and perhaps rendering our Enemies bankrupt by sudden and large calls on them…” Based on Jefferson’s recommendation, Mazzei was appointed as a special envoy by Governor Henry and the Virginia Council during January 1779. He was authorized to obtain a loan of gold and silver, not to exceed 900,000 pounds sterling, and to purchase goods in Italy for use of Virginia State troops. He then signed an oath of loyalty to the Commonwealth of Virginia on April 21, 1779. After his departure on June 19, he was scheduled to make a trans- atlantic crossing on a French ship, and was just about to sail when the British captured and burned the vessel. Anxious to begin his mission, he took the next available ship, the Johnston Smith. Unfortunately, this ship was captured shortly after it had cleared the Virginia Capes. Mazzei and his family were placed on a ship headed for New York for detention. Knowing that he would surely be hanged if his plans were discovered, Mazzei placed his official instructions and commission in a bag with lead weights and threw them overboard before the British could search him. On August 27, 1779, he and his family were sent to Ireland. There he managed to arrange passage for he and his family aboard a Portuguese vessel and escape from there to La Rochelle, France. Initially exhausted and ill and without his official papers, he had a hard time making any progress. Even after succeeding in getting replacement papers, Virginia authorities failed to supply him funding and other help which would impede his mission. Probably of greatest value was the intelligence he would send back in a series of 36 dispatches to Thomas Jefferson, then Governor of Virginia and his successor, Benjamin Harrison. The last of these dispatches was dated December 9, 1782. Page 6 Feature Story Although his mission not completely successful, his great efforts were nonetheless greatly appreciated when he returned to Virginia in November 1783. The Board of Trade of Virginia passed a resolution commending his efforts: “And the Board reflecting on the patriotic exertions of Mr. Mazzei in the favor of this country in the aforesaid appointment, are of the opinion that he has conducted himself therein with activity, assiduity, and zeal, and that the ill sweep that has attended his business is by no means imputable to him but to certain coincident circumstances, and that his conduct merits the appreciation of the Board, of which this is to be considered as a testimonial.” Jefferson had first met Mazzei when he came to Virginia to develop vineyards in the year 1773. As of 1756, Mazzei had established himself a successful wine merchant in London, and met Benjamin Franklin when he purchased two Franklin stoves on behalf of the Grand Duke of Tuscany. With the help of Franklin and others, he formed a company to establish vineyards in Virginia. He succeeded at this for a while at least, and met George Washington, George Wythe and Thomas Jefferson. He adopted the American revolutionary cause, and published frequent articles for John Pinckney’s Virginia Gazzette. He even marched off on January 11, 1777 to take part in a battle with the British, which fortunately for Mazzei, did not occur. Mazzei and Jefferson shared an interest in politics, exchanging ideas about liberty and freedom, and corresponded with each throughout their lives. Jefferson was influenced by Mazzei’s ideas and writings, and Mazzei in turn, by Jefferson.